A History Corrected

A History Corrected

A poem about Churchill and the absence of a medal for Bomber Command.

Two printed sheets

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MTaplinJA1268696-160105-01

A history corrected

Churchill was a great Statesman
as every schoolchild learns.
‘Winnie’ led us through the War
Fighting back as London burned

“We shall fight them on the beaches”
He rallied the nation’s folk
Always with cigar and stick
He gave the nation hope

But let us ‘never forget’
Politics was his way
And we all know what politicians are . . .
Can you ever believe what they say?

And when the war had finished
One group of men ceased to cheer
Over the year’s they’d received ‘bad press’
Staring downwards into their beer.

These the men of Bomber Command
Who only did what they were told
Through five Winters of the War
Now they are left out in the cold

Yes . . . they only did what they were told
The whole picture they did not receive
For the decision to bomb Dresden . . .
Was Churchill’s, I believe

His desire to please Stalin
Was at the time his aim
But for the brave of Bomber Command
This would haunt them again and again (and . . .)

[page break]

“Let us never forget . . .“
How many of men were lost
Not to mention Prisoners of War
and other dreadful costs

So as these brave grow older
Staring even deeper into their beer
Formal recognition seems even further away
It must bring little cheer

And as their numbers dwindle
And they pass beyond {the} Flak filled skies
Their honour will never dwindle
Their courage never dies.

And I will sing “Unsung hero”
And plant a single Flower
A reminder to Mr Churchill
This was not, his finest hour.

[boxed] There is a statue to Winston Churchill at the entrance to the House of Commons and on the arch directly above it is a crack . . . the result of a German bombing raid . . . Post-modern Irony at its best. [/boxed]

[drawing]
BOMBER COMMAND’S CAMPAIGN MEDAL

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